Wire cage forming machine



1360- 221959 E. P. WASHABAUGH WIRE CAGE FORMING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 25, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 22, 1959 E. P. WASHABAUGH WIRE CAGE FORMING MACHINE Filed Feb. 25, 1957 INVENTOR. [DIV/4K0 174677486 0619 m mm Hl ATTOR/Vi/J Dec. 22, 1959 E. P. WASHABAUGH 2,918,103

WIRE CAGE FORMING MACHINE Filed Feb. 25, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 i. F6 L5 I N V EN TOR.

[0 WQAQ HMS/45406 1366- 1959 E. P. WASHABAUGH 2,918,103

WIRE CAGE FORMING MACHINE 1 Filed Feb. 25, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 2w :1 Fwd/M A rrale/vz'rs This invention relates to a machine for shaping wire mesh to form a wire cage and more particularly to a 7 machine adapted to form a circular wire mesh cage from wire withdrawn from a roll of wire mesh. This application is a continuationin-part of my application Serial No. 339,558, now abandoned, filed March 2, 1953.

An object is to provide a machine which will withdraw wire mesh from a stock coil and shape the same to form a circular wire cage accurately and expeditiously. The machine is so constructed that there is a minimum amount of chance of an attendant being injured in the operation thereof and the machine requires a minimum amount of effort and work on the part of the attendant.

Another object is the provision of a machine of the character described whereby wire mesh withdrawn from a stock coil is first straightened and is then given such curvature as is necessary to produce the diameter of wire cage desired.

Another object is the provision of a machine of the character described provided with a plurality of cooperating oppositely disposed wire mesh engaging and forming rolls arranged in such a sequence that wire is withdrawn from the stock coil of wire mesh and advanced through the shaping and forming rolls. Certain of the wire mesh engaging rolls are so disposed as to remove the curvature imparted to the wire mesh by the formation of the stock coil and to straighten the same. Certain other of the wire mesh engaging rolls are so disposed as to impart to the straightened wire mesh the curvature necessary to provide the desired diameter of wire cage. Such last-mentioned rolls are disposed so as to urge the wire mesh upon a curved support upon which the desired circularity of the cage is finally accomplished.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a machine of the character mentioned which is adapted to shape wire cages of varying diameters. A concomitant object is the provision of a curved support for supporting wire mesh during the curving thereof to form wire mesh cages of a given minimum diameter, and which support is shiftable away from a wire mesh supporting position to expose another portion of the machine which supports the wire mesh during curvature thereof to form wire mesh cages of a smaller diameter.

The machine is so constructed that the stock coil of wire mesh from which wire is being Withdrawn to form the cages is freely supported for withdrawal therefrom and the attendant is protected against the whipping of the wire mesh in such a manner as to injure the operator.

Other objects, advantages, and meritorious features will appear from the following description, claims, and drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a schematic side elevation of the machine showing the support for the roll of wire mesh and the means for withdrawing wire mesh from the roll and imposing the desired curvature thereupon;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine shown schematically in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan partly broken away of the machine 2,918,103 Patented Dec. .22, 1959 rolls;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a broken away perspective of the feed rolls engaging the wire mesh to advance the same;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary schematic side elevation of a modified form of the machine shown in Fig. 1 and wherein a portion of the wire cage supporting plate may be swung upwardly from the dotted outline position to the solid outline position to permit formation of smaller diameter cages; and

Fig. 9 is a top fragmentary view of the machine shown in Fig. 8 but with the swingable portion of the wire cage supporting plate in the dotted outline position of Fig. 8.

The machine comprises a frame which consists of a pair of longitudinal side beams 10, one of which is shown in Fig. 2, and front and rear upright standards 12 and 14 respectively. At the rear end of the machine there is an enclosure to receive a roll of wire mesh and the frame has an upper forwardly extending portion 16 which is supported at the rear upon the standard 14 and at the front end upon a generally upright but sloping standard 18. A floor plate 20 is supported upon channel members 22 and 24 which extend transversely of the frame at the rear, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The rear enclosure formed by the standards 14 and 18 and the top beam 16 and the rear end of the side beam 10 is provided with a pair of rollers 26 freely journaled upon brackets 28 which are carried by the frame. These rollers 26 support the stock coil or roll of wire mesh inserted from the rear into the enclosure. Such roll of wire mesh is held within the enclosure by a roller 30 which is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as disposed to hold the wire mesh roll in place. This roller 30 may be raised through the guideway formed by the bar 32 and disposed as shown in dotted outline at 34 upon the top of the frame.

The stock roll of wire mesh which is indicated by the numeral 36 in Fig. 1 is' freely supported within the enclosure. When the free end is released from the roll it will spring forward under its inherent tension against one of the series of freely supported rollers 40, 42, or 44. These are idler rollers and as the roll 36 is revolved so as to bring the free end 38 down to the position indicated by the dotted line 46, such free end of wire may be advanced forwardly over the roller 48 and between upper and lower guide plates 50 and 52. These guide plates are. disposed somewhat angularly with respect to each other so as to facilitate the entry of the free end of wire mesh 38 therebetween and guide it forwardly to the succeeding pair of rollers. As shown, the re r ends of the guide plates are substantially on a line with the axes of the adjacent roll while the forward edges of the guide plates are only slightly offset the leading edge of the adjacent roll. All that the guide plates do is to ensure that the Wire will be kept properly in line to pass from one series of rollers to the other.

Immediately adjacent the forward ends of the guide plates 50 and 52 is a pair of cooperating oppositely disposed feed rolls 5'4 and 56. These feed rolls, as well as the other rolls hereinafter described which form part of the plurality of cooperating wire mesh engaging and shaping rolls, are driven from a motor 58 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. These other rolls or rollers which form a part of the cooperating series comprise two groups of three rolls each.

The first group of three rolls consists of two upper rolls 60 and 62 which are arranged in line but spaced apart by an interval. The third roll in this group is indicated by the numeral 64 and it is disposed opposite the. interval .betweemthe .rolls,, 60. and 62 anion. the opposite side'of the wire'mesh which passes'btween' -the rolls. A- lower guide plate 66. isdisposedbetweenfrolls 54 and 64, as shown in Fig. 1. An up er guide. P .5 is disposed between the rolls-60 and .62, and overlies the wire mesh46 normally spaced therefrom. Thisiplate, as well as plate 66, serves to guide the free end ofithe wire mesh between'the rolls as the'mesh is initially threaded through the machine, after the fashion of the plates 50 and 52. 1

Forwardly of the group of three rolls 60, .62, and 64 are two guide plates 68 and 70. These guide plates extend forwardly to the second group of three rolls 72, 74, and 76. These guide plates have their rear ends disnut to advance or retract the shaft and thereby raise or lower the roll 64. This raising or lowering of the roll 64 imposes a strain upon thewire mesh counter the rolls 60 and 62 so as to straighten out the mesh from the set it has been given by being wound up in the roll 36.

The wire mesh, after it leaves the straightening rolls 60, 62, and 64, extends'forwardly between guide plates 68 and 7.0 to be received between the shaping rolls 72, 74, and 76. The upper shaping roll 72 is suitably journaled within a bearing block 118. The block is slidably supported within ways 120 to be raised and lowered by adjustment screw 122. This adjustment screw is threadedly engaged by a nut 124 which nut is held against adposed substantially on a line with the supporting axes of the rolls 60 and 64 while their forward ends are disposed slightly offset the leading edges of the rolls 72 and 76. The second group of three rolls 72, 74, and 76 have the two rolls 74 and 76 spaced apart by an interval and theupper roll 72 is disposed oppositethis interval.

superimposing all of the rolls is an arcuately curved plate 80. This plate is provided with a wire mesh supporting surface adapted to support the wire mesh cage which rolls upwardly and rearwardly thereupon. The forward edge of the plate terminates adjacent and is rolled downwardly over the roll 72, as shown at 82. This plate terminates on top of the frame in an under portion 84 which rests against the frame 16. As the wire mesh passes through the machine it is given a curvature which causes it to roll upwardly and rearwardly onto the plate 80 in a manner hereinafter more particularly described.

The two groups of three rolls and the feed rolls are supported in a surrounding enclosure, as shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5, which consist of a box-like enclosure having a bottom portion 86, a top portion 88, and ends 90 and 92. The motor 58 rests upon the top wall 88. This enclosure is provided with side plates 94 and 96 as shown in Fig. 6.

The drive of the machine is. from the motor 58 by means of a belt or chain 98 which extends downwardly about the roll 62, rearwardly around the lower feed roll 54, forwardly about roll 76, and rearwardly to the motor 58, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. The drive is in a direction to advance the wire mesh 46 forwardly. The feed roll 56 is journaled in a bearing which has a permitted up and down movement within a slot in the side plate so as to permit the feed roll 56 to rest by its own weight, and it may be weighted, upon the wire mesh 46 to hold it snugly against the feed roll 54 to advance the mesh. The feed roll 56 is driven by a drive belt 100 from the driven roll 62, as shown in Fig. 5. The drive between feed roll 56 and the roll 62 is such that the feed roll 56 may raise and lower to accommodate for variations in thickness of the wire mesh as the cross Wires 102 of the mesh pass thereunder.

The first group of three rolls 60, 62, and 64 are what 'rnightbet'erme'd straightening rolls. The roll 62 is driven, as hereinabove described, from the motor. Roll 60 is driven from roll 62 by a drive belt 104. Roll 64 is driven from roll 54 by a drive belt 106. Roll 64 is supported to be raised and lowered with respect to the interval between the rolls 60 and 62 in this same series of three rolls.

There is a bearing block 108 within which the ends of the feed roll 64 are slidably journaled. The block itself is slidably supported within ways 110 for raising and lowering as provided by a threaded shaft 112 connected at one end with the block. This shaft is threadedly surrounded by adjustment nut 114 which nut is provided with an encircling groove seated within stationary plate 116. The nut is provided with an end extension which may be engaged by a wrench or the like torotate the vance over the screw by engagement with a slotted stationary plate 126. Rotation of the nut thereby advances or retracts the screw and lifts or lowers the roll 72.

Roll 72 may therefore be adjusted to impose the desired strain upon the wire mesh necessary to produce the curvature required for the formation of the wire cage, The curvature imposed upon the wire mesh by roll 72 determines the diameter of the cage. The pressure of the roll 72 is downwardly opposite the interval between rolls 74 and 76. This causes the free end of the wire mesh 46 tocurve upwardly and rearwardly and fall over upon the arcuate plate 80, as shown in Fig. 1.

When the desired length of curved wire mesh has been extruded beyond the roll 74 the machine is stopped by 1 suitable control mechanism and such length of wire mesh I porting vplate 80.

termed secondary support.

is then cut off. When the mesh is cut off the cage rolls backward to rest upon the lowest point of the concave surface of plate 80. The ends of the cut-off section may be secured together to form the wire cage. The curvature imparted to the wire is such that a cage so formed possesses a substantially accurate circularity.

While adjustment of roller 72 downwardly will result in making cages of smaller diameter, a limit is reached at which, .if the cagesare made any smaller, permanent distortion occurs as the mesh spirals on the arcuate sup- To overcome this, that portion of plate which overlies roll 72 and extends rearwardly over guide 68 is made shiftable so that it may be moved completely out of the way thereby exposing guide 68 and permitting the end of the mesh to rest upon the guide. The upper, or exposed surface of the guide, provides a wire mesh supporting surface. The free end of the mesh engages a guard at the end of the plate. As a result a cage of smaller diameter may be rolled in a true circle instead of a spiral as would otherwise occur.

.More particularly, arcuate supporting plate 80 is provided with a swingable end portion 80 as shown in Fig. 8 having a forward end 82' which terminates adjacent and is curved to overlie in spaced relation the roller 72. The rear end of swingable portion 80 is secured, as by welding, to a pivot rod 130, the opposite ends of which are journaled in the side plates 94 and 96 as shown in Fig. 9. Handles 132 may be provided for raising the plate portion 80' to the solid outline position shown in Fig. 8. A plate support 134 is secured as by welding to each of the side plates 94 and 96 at each side of portion 80' to support the swingable portion in the dotted outline position. At the forward edge of guide 68 is a guard 136 for holding the free end of the mesh and preventing it from re-entering beneath roller 72. Aside from these differences the embodiment of Figs. 8 and 9 is the same as that shown in Figs. 17.

In operation of the Figs. 8 and 9 embodiment, with the plate portion 80' swung down to the dotted outline position, the machine functions as described in connection with Figs. l-7. To form cages of smaller diameter, however, the plate portion 80 is shifted out of the way by grasping handles 132 and swinging it up to the. solid outline position exposing the guide 68, or what may be The roller 72 is adjusted downwardly the amount necessary to form a cage of the required diameter, and as the mesh issues from between rolls 72, 74, and 76, it curves upwardly and rearwardly and downwardly with its free end coming to rest against the secondary support 68. As the mesh continues to issue from the rolls the free end slides along the support 68 until engaging the guard 136 adjacent roller 72. Thereafter the circular cage expands until sufficient mesh has been discharged to form a cage of the required size. Thereupon the mesh is cut off and at that time the cutoff end of the cage springs back against the roller 72. The cage further contracts when it is removed from engagement with roll 72 and guard 13 6. The ends of the mesh are then overlapped and welded together forming a circular cage.

What I claim is:

1. In a machine for shaping wire mesh to form a cage, means for rotatably supporting a stock coil of wire mesh from which mesh is withdrawn to form the cage, a plurality of successive cooperating oppositely disposed rolls spaced to exert a pressure upon wire mesh unwound from a stock coil supported by said means, power means coupled to at least one of said rolls for unwinding mesh from the stock coil and feeding the same between the rolls, said rolls comprising two groups of three rolls each with the groups spaced apart along the mesh unwound from the stock coil, each group having two rolls in line separated by an interval and a third roll disposed opposite the interval and adjustable toward and away from the interval to exert a pressure on the wire mesh at the interval counter the other two rolls in the group, that group of three rolls first receiving mesh from the stock coil having the adjustable roll disposed to bear against that surface of the mesh theretofore forming the outer surface of the stock coil to straighten the mesh, that three-roll group last receiving wire mesh unwound from the stock coil having the adjustable roll disposed above the mesh to shape the mesh to circular form as it passes between the rolls of the group, an upwardly and outwardly concave wire mesh supporting plate superimposing said groups of rolls with the lower end of the plate terminating adjacent the adjustable roll of the last-mentioned three-roll group, a secondary wire mesh-supporting surface disposed spaced below said plate adjacent the lastrnentioned three-roll group, and said plate having a movably supported portion disposed above the secondary wire mesh-supporting surface and shiftable away from above the secondary surface to expose the same for the support of wire mesh passing out of the last-mentioned threeroll group.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 characterized in that said shiftable portion of the wire mesh supporting plate is pivotally supported at that edge remote from the last-mentioned three-roll group and is swingable upwardly and away from such three-roll group to expose the secondary wire-supporting surface.

3. In a machine for shaping wire wesh to form a circular cage, a plurality of successive cooperating oppositely disposed rolls spaced to exert a pressure upon wire mesh passed therebetween, comprising two groups of three rolls each, each group of three rolls consisting of two rolls substantially in line separated by an interval and a third roll disposed opposite said interval and adjustable toward and away from the interval to exert a pressure on the wire mesh at the interval and toward the other two rolls, and further comprising two cooperating oppositely disposed driven feed rolls spaced to exert a pressure upon wire mesh therebetween to advance the same, the uppermost feed roll being supported to move freely toward and away from the lower roll and weighted to hold the wire mesh down upon the lower roll, oppositely disposed guide plates extending between successive rolls to guide the wire mesh from one group of rolls to the succeeding rolls, arcuate wire cage supporting means superimposing said rolls and being upwardly and outwardly concave, one group of three rolls being disposed below and substantially at the outer and lower end of said means and having that one of the three rolls disposed opposite the interval between said two rolls disposed uppermost, said means being curved downwardly and forwardly over said one roll, an enclosure for a roll of wire mesh arranged at one end of said plurality of successive cooperating rolls, said enclosure including two freely rotatable rollers adapted to support said roll of wire mesh, two freely rotatable rollers disposed spaced apart on opposite sides of said roll of wire mesh when the mesh is mounted on the two first-mentioned freely rotatable rollers, and the said third roll of the other group of three rolls arranged to bear against that surface of the wire mesh which previously formed the outside surface of the roll of wire mesh supported in the enclosure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 357,082 Hine Feb. 1, 1887 642,339 Krummel Jan. 30, 1900 2,038,305 Mikaelson et al. Apr. 21, 1936 2,233,547 Miller et al. Mar. 4, 1941 2,280,564 Wilson Apr. 21, 1942 2,324,855 Lane et al. July 20, 1943 2,449,507 Pope Sept. 14, 1948 2,746,511 Branthoover May 22, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 464,215 Germany Aug. 10, 1928 368,488 Great Britain Mar. 10, 1932 

